Kaizer Chiefs midfielder fights drug addiction
Kaizer Chiefs midfielder Thabo Cele is back in his home country after playing in Portugal, Poland and Russia in the past 10 years.
Born in Kwa Mashu, Durban, 28 years ago, Cele moved to Amakhosi in January to earn his first experience of professional football in Mzansi's Betway Premiership.
The Kaizer Chiefs midfielder says that during December, he discovered his peers had become victims of drug abuse. Cele has since established a programme he calls 'My Brother's Keeper' to rescue addicts.
'Being away, I couldn't do much. Last December, while I was home, I realised I didn't like what was happening in my community,' Cele told FARPost . 'More and more boys were falling into drugs, and I'd look at some of them and say 'you played football and now you're doing drugs…'
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'We started engaging with the gents and recorded some of the sessions. We didn't post. With time, ideas came on how we could send the message across to try and help the gents. I thought, let's sit and speak to each other. The project is about trying to help the community.
The Kaizer Chiefs midfielder added: 'These are gents I grew up with, so it's natural conversations that we have. I appreciate their energy and how they opened up.'
'I am making it my mission to find someone who can come and help us. I have my own idea – maybe someone who has a farm, takes them to work, and they are placed in a rehabilitation facility. There are many things we can do. Those chats are important as a starting point,' Cele added.
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